Jangxia's lunch was eaten at Shanni Temple.
By the time dinner rolled around, he'd already woken up back at the bed and breakfast.
Not long after, Toru Amuro wrapped up his preliminary investigation. He came to check on Jangxia and found him flipping through Introduction to Ceramic Art. Judging by the page he was on, he was already more than halfway through.
Amuro nodded to himself approvingly. Obedient, learns fast—this kid's got a bright future.
The B&B they were staying at also served food. Since this wasn't exactly a leisure trip, they decided not to go anywhere fancy and just eat downstairs.
As they walked down the stairs to the dining hall, Jangxia's eyes drifted over the room—and locked onto three very familiar hairstyles:
—A brown mushroom cut with a headband,
—Long straight black hair with a suspicious poof at the crown,
—An undercut with a few stubborn strands sticking up in the back.
Suzuki Sonoko. Ran Mouri. And Conan Edogawa.
Jangxia stopped in his tracks. His first instinct? There must be ghosts to pick up.
Then he frowned. Wait a second... Didn't these three say they'd definitely call me the next time they went on a trip together?
Because of their seating arrangement and one person's built-in "hot guy radar," the first to spot Jangxia was, naturally, Suzuki Sonoko.
They locked eyes.
Jangxia's look was subtle, but Sonoko's intuition was sharper than it looked. She instantly picked up on the unsaid judgment and slight disappointment in Jangxia's expression.
Her heart skipped a beat. Sitting up a little straighter, she laughed guiltily and greeted him, "Whaaat a coincidence, hahaha!"
The reason she didn't invite him on the trip this time wasn't because she was spooked by past murders. Oh no—Sonoko had something much more important in mind.
She needed to test a hypothesis. Was the reason no hot guys ever hit on her because of her looks and vibe... or was something else going on?
...This, incidentally, had a bit to do with Jangxia.
While planning this trip, Sonoko suddenly realized that whenever she traveled with family or on her own, she always stayed at her own villa or at least a luxury hotel.
And even when going with Ran, they'd win raffles for travel packages—also to decently fancy places.
But if she brought Jangxia along... well, she'd have to adjust to his budget-conscious ways. Meaning: more affordable, down-to-earth lodging.
It hit her like a lightning bolt. No hot guys approach me because I'm always staying in bougie places! I'm like a high mountain flower—too high up for the common folk to even try!
So she revised her entire "civilian travel strategy." Eager to see the results, she picked this cheap B&B in Izu.
She didn't invite Jangxia because... well, bringing him to flirt with hot guys just felt weird. Plus, if the handsome civilians took one look at Jangxia and chickened out, it would ruin her experiment.
...What she didn't expect was to run into Jangxia before running into any handsome strangers.
As soon as she spoke, Ran and Conan followed her gaze—and spotted Jangxia too.
Ran immediately felt a rush of guilt.
The kind of guilt you feel when three people agree to go queue together in a ranked match, but two of them sneak off and queue without the third—and then run into them mid-game.
To Jangxia... will this feel like a betrayal from the doctor who raised him?!
Ran and Sonoko looked at each other and stood up awkwardly.
But to their surprise, Jangxia didn't give them the cold shoulder or turn around and leave.
On the contrary—he walked over and hovered beside the empty stool at their table.
Conan looked at Jangxia, then at Ran, and silently pushed the stool out.
Sonoko recovered instantly, grabbed the back of the chair and beamed, "Come sit!"
Jangxia sat down with practiced politeness.
And then stared at the three of them with... affection.
After all, wherever these three showed up, he could reliably pick up ghosts. In Jangxia's eyes, they were practically good luck charms now.
After one more scan of the group, a thought tickled the back of his mind.
Wait... wasn't I forgetting something?
Just then—clack!—another stool slid up to the table.
Amuro Toru sat down, totally at ease.
"Hello," he said, smiling, "I'm the boss at the office where Jangxia works part-time."
He remembered Jangxia saying that bringing a high school student along to the pottery class would make people let their guard down.
Well now, with three high schoolers and one elementary schooler... I could practically strut in here sideways.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 20/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS*
Glossary:
Pick up ghosts: Fanfic term in this context meaning "get involved in murder cases" (as dead bodies = ghosts).
High mountain flower: A metaphor for someone seen as beautiful but unapproachable.
Civilian tourism strategy: A self-devised plan to blend in with the average public while traveling, usually for ulterior motives.